Restart
by Healer Sayain
Summary: Sometimes, the only way to fix things is by simply restarting, no matter how many times it takes. (an attempt to write a better groundhog day fic)
1. One: Die

**AN: For Chad. I'm going to do everything in my power to finish this story. It had honestly been four years in the making, so I think it finally needs to be on paper. I have no beta, so be warned. **

**I haven't read past a certain chapter, so this is probably a major AU. As always, reviews are my cocaine.**

* * *

_Naruto shivered in fear as he watched the kunai pass through his opponent's now insubstantial body. His enemy's face was obscured by a ridiculous mask, but he still got the feeling that the psycho missing-nin was smirking at him. _

_That suspicion disappeared as he gleefully watched the shadow clone shove a rasen-shuiken through the back of Madara's skull. _

_However, luck had never been his friend. He blinked as Madara burst into a multitude of cockroaches that suddenly began to scurry towards him. While he had never been afraid of bugs, roaches in particular, he still gulped and jumped back. It didn't work. The wave of shiny black insects poured over him. Terror and wriggling black legs made his throat close and his breath stop. He couldn't breathe. A thought, more dangerous than a single old, crafty Uchiha, filled his mind. _

_Naruto was going to lost this fight. _

_Desperation wrapped icy fingers around his heart. His mind raced for a way out, a final way to win. All he could remember, however, was a jutsu scroll he had read while with Jiraiya. The old pervert hadn't known that Naruto had read it, though he probably wouldn't have cared if he had. Pointless suicidal tendencies were never Naruto's game, and the jutsu was, very simply, an extremely powerful kamikaze jutsu. Jiraiya was pretty sure Naruto would never use such a jutsu in battle, since the boy still had so much to live for. _

_Boy, had he been wrong. _

_The irony was not lost on Naruto, and even with the large roaches trying to force their way through his not-so-large nostrils, he snorted out a laugh. At least he'd go out with a smile. _

_A single handsign, it was all it would take._

* * *

Naruto's mind jerked awake, and immediately he knew someone was there. Expecting a bloody battlefield and an enemy nin attempting to kill him, he kicked out and threw himself to the side. However, all this did was wrap him up in the blankets surrounding him and caused him to fall off the bed with a particular loud thump. Panic was clawing at him which, in turn, made him claw at the restricting covers, not that it made much of a difference.

A soft cough pierced through his terror-filled struggling. Startled, Naruto called chakra to his skin. The force of his chakra expelling out ripped the blankes to shreds, causing them to catch fire in the air. Naruto spun and glared at the shinobi on the windowsill, ready to tear the enemy apart. His brain suddenly stalled.

Kakashi's single visible eye was wide in shock. It was nothing compared to the look of shock Naruto knew he had on his face.

Naruto knew for a fact that Kakashi was dead. He had seen the body of his sensei, looking almost peaceful in death if not for the fact that he had not let go of Zabuza's giant blade. There were very few outside wounds on the man. Completely in shock at the thought of another of his precious people was dead, another sensei gone, Naruto had almost missed the fact that Tsunade had stated the cause of death. Apparently, the elite jonin's heart had given out due to chakra exhaustion. While in a normal time, that would've been a stupid and rare death. In the middle of war against a near-undefeatable enemy, it was an increasingly common cause of Shinobi death, particularly in the jonin rank.

But, here, sitting on the windowsill of Naruto's apartment, in Konoha, was the man Naruto had never thought to see again. The man who had taught Naruto what it meant to be in a team was staring at him as if he was an imposter, and he couldn't bring himself to honestly disagree with the man.

"What was that?" Kakashi said slowly, his body tense and ready to attack. Naruto winced at the sound of his voice, his heart clenching in pain at the fact that he was alive. He could feel tears pricking in the back of his eyes.

"Nightmare," Naruto replied truthfully. He looked down, trying to keep from openly staring at Kakashi. He wondered if he was in a middle of a genjutsu. He didn't put it past Madara to do something like that. The jerk hole.

"Hmm," The jonin hummed, but didn't ask anything else, watching a still burning shred of bedding. "I'm just here to ask what happened. I thought you were all prepared for the Chunin exams. Why did you not show up today?"

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes almost impossibly wide. "Chunin exams?" He whispered, disbelieving. "That's impossible."

Kakashi's eye tilted into a smile, suspicion almost aglow in his onyx gaze. "Oh really? How so?"

* * *

_Hinata could feel the rage choking her, the anger racing through her veins. It was masking the worry, the fear that was buried deep down in her chest. It was easier to be angry that he left them, that he left her, just so he could face an enemy that he couldn't beat alone. It was easier than wondering if when they caught up, if they would only find his corpse. _

_She could feel Gaara's eyes boring into the back of her head. She knew that he wanted to know if they could get through the barrier, if she could see the battle. He wanted to know if Naruto was still alive. _

"_Hinata?" Sakura questioned, her voice quiet. Hinata ignored her, whipping around from her glaring at the barrier to narrow her eyes on the Kazekage. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her obvious anger, but didn't comment. Though, considering the man, the look itself was a comment. _

"_He's in there," she hissed. "The barrier is Madara's doing. There is a weak point three meters up from our position here. It'll be tight, but if Kiribee-san blasts it, we may have an opening to get through." _

_Gaara glanced up, nodding once. "Can you see how the battle is progressing?" his question was given in a bland voice. She wanted to scream at him for asking the one question she didn't want to answer. Still, knowing her duty, she turned, Byakugan on, to look for something she didn't want to see. It didn't take long. The battle threw more chakra around than any she had ever seen. _

"_He's losing," was her simple and quiet reply. Everyone turned to stare at her and she stared back at them. _

"_Kiribee, fire at the point she indicated. Everyone, be prepared to jump, we will not have much time." Gaara ordered. _

"_Gotcha!" Kiribee said, leaping back and shifting into his six tailed form, prepared to launch a Beast Breast Ball at the weak spot in the barrier. The moment it was launched, Hinata shoved chakra into her legs and leaped. She was only a feet behind the blast and as it hit the barrier, the explosion threatened to launch her back. However, she had never felt a rage, a determination like this before, and she was prepared for the possible back-lash. Tucking and beginning to roll, she unleashed chakra as if in a kaiten. It was awkard, considering her axis of rotation was not the normal veritcal axis, but still, the kaiten worked. She sailed through a hole that was barely wide enough to accommodate her curled up state. She straightened fast enough to land on her feet, stumbling a few steps before she could regain her balance. She glanced back. _

_Everyone had landed on their feet from bouncing off the barrier. She could see Sakura and Kiba yelling in frustration, pointing at the already closed hole. Soon though, her eyes caught the teal gaze of a certain Kazekage. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her on the other side. They stared at each other for a moment, an understanding passing between them. An idle thought crossed her mind, that perhaps if things were different, Gaara and her could've been very good friends. Now, though, the only thing that mattered was the man fighting against the monster trying to kill them all. _

_Gaara nodded, a small nod that spoke volumes, and she returned it. Then she spun and raced towards an almost certain death to save the man she loved._

* * *

Naruto wasn't stupid by any means. He was naïve, he'd admit that one, but that didn't mean he had no clue when someone was about to shove a kunai into his eye. Besides, being a prankster in a village full of ninjas had taught him one major skill. He knew how to lie.

"I MISSED IT!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. He almost broke the act with a smirk at his sensei's slight jerk of surprise, but was able to keep it to himself. "HOW DID I MISS THE EXAMS? CRAP!" He set about trying to find clothes to throw on, watching his sensei out of the corner of his eye.

Kakashi's eye narrowed again, but Naruto was sure his act was spot on. Honestly, if he could lie to the face of two Hokages, Kakashi without the Sharingan on was nothing. Of course, if the Sharingan had been on, that would've been a completely different story. Stupid kekei-genkai.

"I see," The not-so-lazy nin drawled. He glanced back down at the ashes that had once been Naruto's blanket. "How often do you have to change the bedding?" He asked without really asking. Naruto stopped his idle hunting and looked over at him.

"Not so often," He muttered, almost guiltily. He did hate lying. An in-grained sense of honesty made him chafe at the necessary evil of telling a lie. Which was dumb for his line of work, he had to admit, but it was true.

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed. "Well, you can take the rest of the day off. I've already spoken to Sasuke and Sakura. We will have a meeting tomorrow at noon in the usual training yard." And, with a swirl of leaves, the jonin was gone.

Not that Naruto relaxed any with the dramatic disappearance. He concentrated for a moment, sensing the chakra around him before letting the tension in his shoulders drop. The jonin had truly left.

Naruto glanced around, taking in the familiar surroundings. He had no clue what was going on. He wasn't even sure if this wasn't a Madara-Sharingan induced coma, which was always a possibility. The last thing he remembered before waking up to his apartment was the battle with Madara on the side of Kazehana Mountain.

He sat on the edge of his bed, mind racing. 'Okay, slow down,' He thought, trying to focus. 'Let's make a list, like Ero-Sannin told me to. Aright, number one. I was fighting Madara and losing. I used the Kamikaze jutsu to attempt to kill Madara. So, I'm dead.'

Sudden realization hit him hard. "I'm dead," he whispered. "Oh, crap!"

* * *

_Hinata didn't stop as she raced towards the clashing super powers. She was running headlong into a battle where she was the weakest person, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't the first time she had thrown herself in between Naruto and an enemy. She could still remember the feeling of Pein's chakra blade stabbing her in the side. She refused to let it stop her. She had to help Naruto. _

_She broke through the tree in time to see a Naruto hit Madara in the back of the head with a rasen-shuriken. She couldn't help a tiny little shiver as the Uchiha exploded into a monstrous mass of black cockroaches. Most insects had never bothered her, having Shino as a teammate, but roaches were the one bug that gave her the heebijeebies. _

_She activated her Byakugan, blinking hard at a sudden realization. The roaches were not a genjutsu, but an extension of Madara's body. She didn't even know something like that could even exist. She watched helpless as the insects washed over Naruto. _

_She took a small step forward as Naruto made a handsign. Another step as she saw all the chakra in his body rush towards the center of his chest. She stepped forward once more as she realized what was happening. Her Byakugan dropped, hiding the evidence of his decision as if it would make it go away. _

_Hinata was kuniochi and as such, she was accustomed to her opponents dying. She had learned during her genin years not to be so bothered by an enemy's death, and she held to that now. However, there was one death that still gave her nightmares. _

_Team 8 had been on a mission to hunt down an assassin killing the young family members of the Frost Dayimo. The mission had been successful and they had cornered the assassin, trying to capture him for his exexution. Hinata had been watching, preparing to attack in unison with Kiba and Akamaru when she had noticed the man concentrating his chakra into the center of his body. She had warned Kuranai and flinched when her sensei had screamed for Kiba to call off the attack. _

_The resounding explosion took out a forty meter wide swath of earth, blasting all of Team 8 back. Kiba and Akamaru had been severely injured and Shino, who had been standing futher back, had still suffered injuries and a lost a quarter of his colony. _

_The worst part of it was that Hinata had watched the man die. She had watched his chakra pathways bulge and explode in his body. She had witnessed the moment when his skin, swelled to the breaking point from the chakra expansion, ripped apart. She had seen when the chakra had hit the air and, like an exploding note, erupted into a blast that destroyed almost everything in it's path. It was the most horrible thing she had ever seen. _

_Now, she was watching Naruto do the same thing. _

_She didn't even realize that she was running towards him until her foot hit a hole and she hit the ground hard. She fought to get back up, panic clawing at her chest. "No," she whispered. "NO!" _

_It was almost as if time stopped for a moment. The cockroaches had shifted just enough to show Naruto's face. Sky-blue eyes met lavender-tinged white. Whatever amusement had been written upon his face disappeared as he looked at her. It was too late though. He closed his eyes shut tightly and she screamed, but it was unheard over the sound of the explosion the ripped through the field. _

_She watched the red-tinged wave as it washed over her, burning her alive._

* * *

Naruto ran out of his apartment so quickly that it took him almost eight steps for him to realize that he was still in his singed pajamas. It took him ten seconds to run back to his apartment, two minutes to change, put on his shoes, and find his headband (which he normally kept on the dresser, but for some reason, was under his pillow) and head back outside of his apartment, hell-bent on getting to Ichiraku's. In all his life, there was only one place that he could to get his mind working, and that was his favorite ramen shop. It didn't help that he missed the place. It had been destroyed so long ago, and he had been gone so long he didn't know if the old man had been able to rebuild yet. Didn't matter now, he guessed, being dead and all.

He shook his head, trying to forcefully remove the thoughts from his mind. He refused to think he had died. It was just wrong. He refused it even more, because he knew that if he had died, he had done it to himself. That was really, really, wrong.

He was almost to the ramen shop when he suddenly dropped to the ground, rolling a few feet before rising to a crouch. The rock that had whizzed above him exploded on the fence behind him, making him blink before realizing it had just been a clod of dirt. He glanced back, rising slowly, to see Sakura and Sasuke walking towards him. The bit of dirt on Sakura's hand told him who had been the one throwing.

Immediately, he gulped. If he had died, then this had to be some twisted sort of heaven, because it was obviously set before everything went wrong. Here was his team, walking towards him, alive and together. Sasuke wasn't off, bent on destroying Konoha. He hadn't even left yet. He probably didn't even have the curse seal. And Sakura, she wasn't crying. She wasn't stuck in a medic tent, elbow deep in another shinobi's ribcage, trying to fight an already lost battle. They were still kids, still the closest thing to innocent genins could get. They were still his friends.

"BAKA!" Sakura yelled, pointing at Naruto's nose. "WHERE WERE YOU? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Naruto blinked, fighting back the emotions and memories welling up inside him. He knew what she was asking. Why hadn't he been at the chunin exams this morning. But suddenly, her questions had taken on a whole new meaning. Where was he? What was he thinking? He swallowed, mind racing to think up of an answer.

"Um, well," He hedged for a moment, and suddenly inspiration struck. "See, what had happened was, there was this army of cockroaches that invaded my apartment! They were trying to eat me alive! It was horrible! I couldn't let them take over my home, so I fought them! It was an epic battle, and there were moments when I thoug-"

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked confused, before Sakura interrupted him. "Okay, did you just pull a Kakashi?" She asked, incredulous.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I thought if it worked for him.."

Sakura's face turned a bright red and she began yelling, "UZUMAKI NARUTO, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!"

In all honesty, the following rant was highly entertaining. As far as Naruto could remember, it was definitely one of Sakura's best, but it didn't really ring true. There was something in her eyes, the tilt of her lips, that made Naruto wonder if she wasn't relieved or something. Anyways, it made the walk to the ramen shop interesting.

Naruto did almost trip along the way. He was too busy watching Sakura, trying to figure out what was going on in that pink head of hers, when this kid ran right into his leg. He stumbled and turned, trying not to fall on the red-headed child who looked to be about six. The kid looked up, mumbling an apology before running off. Naruto looked up to see Sasuke smirking at his moment of inattention. Sakura was in mid-rant though, and really didn't notice.

Finally, Sakura was starting to wind down. " I can't believe how irresponsible you are! Your lateness held us back, and now Sasuke-kun will have to wait another six months before becoming a chuunin!"

Sasuke let out a huff of air that sounded almost affectionate, and began walking away. Sakura noticed, but didn't try to call him back, instead turning to Naruto. Her shoulder's seemed to sag with relief, and she gave him a quick smile and a wink, before racing off to catch up with the Uchiha.

Naruto smirked. Yeah, he thought that was what that had been about. Sakura had been terrified of the chuunin exams, worried that she was going to be the one holding him and Sasuke back. Now though, she was off the hook. It was his fault that they weren't in the exams, and she could save face in front of Sasuke by berating Naruto. Once upon a time, that would've really bothered him. But now? He understood and could even help her it. It was just another dynamic to their team.

Pursing his lips, he began whistling a merry little tune with extremely raunchy lyrics that he had learned from Jirayia. He was walking the last few steps to Ichiraku's when something made him glance to the right.

He froze, the melody dying on his lips. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he stared in a pair of startled lavender-tinged white eyes. It almost felt like time had stopped, and he realized with an almost gut wrenching feeling that the look in her gaze was almost the same look when he had released the Kamikaze no jutsu.

He wasn't the only one dead.


	2. One: Scream

**AN: Chapters will be uploaded as soon as they are done. that is all. **

* * *

Hinata woke up screaming.

She woke up screaming for Naruto, screaming from the pain of the chakra wave that she knew had killed her. She woke up screaming in fear.

She immediately covered her mouth, her byakugan activated, scanning the area for Madara or any other enemy. However her scan revealed something odd. She was sitting in her room in the Hyuuga compound. She blinked, wondering idly if this was the underworld. She knew that the compound had been destroyed completely by Pein in the Akatsuki attack.

"Hinata-sama?!" A old voice called and Hinata blinked, releasing her Byakugan, at Setsuko, her old maid. Setsuko had been her mother's maid and, when Hyuuga Kazumi had died, Setsuko became the maid of her mistress's oldest daughter. It was an old tradition passed down from Hinata's mother's family.

It wasn't really Setsuko that had Hinata wanting to hyperventilate. It was the fact that Setsuko had had a stroke right before Hinata had made Chunin. The old woman's entire right side had been paralyzed, forcing her to retire. So Hinata couldn't help but stare at her.

"Hinata-sama?" Setsuko asked. "Are you well?"

This question seemed to snap Hinata out of her shocked state. "F-fine," She forced out, flinging herself out of her bed. "Nightmare," was her only answer as she raced to her bathroom.

She stared at herself in the mirror, eyes taking in the small face and big pale lavender eyes. But it was her hair that really caught her attention. It was cut short in a cute little bob cut, with two long bangs framing her face. She had stopped wearing her hair like that when she was thirteen, opting instead to let it grow out into a hime cut.

Hinata had never been accused of being stupid. She was shy, yes, but never unintelligent or unobservant. So she stared, and her mind raced, as she tried to figure out what was going on. There was only two real options.

Either, she was in some twisted version of the afterlife, which was a possibility, or she had gone back in time.

Hinata screamed.

* * *

Three hours late found her standing on the street near Ichiraku's, waiting. She was hiding, if she wanted to be honest with herself. She was hiding from her family and from her teammates. She had learned what day it was, and she had decied to wait here for him. She figured that her teammates wouldn't look for her where she was now. She needed to know if she was there alone, or not. There was a possibility that he would be at the chunin exams, but something told her to wait wait there.

So she waited.

When her eyes met his, she froze, going pale. All she could remember was his gaze as he stared at her, unable to stop something already in motion. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wanted to scream and throw herself at him. He was looking at her like he'd seen a ghost.

She couldn't stop herself. She spun and walked away.

Footsteps behind her almost made her turn around, but she didn't. She knew who it was. She just couldn't face him. She wanted to scream at him, cry on him, kiss him, and kill him all at the same time. She needed to know why he thought killing himself was the only thing he thought he could. She needed to know if he was real, because it would be just her luck that in her afterlife, the love of her life was a figment of her imagination. She needed to get her bearings and she couldn't do it in the middle of the street with him standing right next to her.

"Hinata?" His voice asked softly, gently, as if wondering if she was real as well, and she almost broke. She stopped and turned to look at him.

He was just as she remembered him when they were twelve. He was about an inch shorter than her, bright sky blue eyes and blonde hair that stuck out everywhere. He looked confused and lost, and something in her snapped.

"Y-y-ou idiot!" She yelled, flinging her arms around his shoulders and burying her face in his neck. She started sobbing, unable to stop herself.

Naruto stiffened, but after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her. She almost flinched, but she tightened her grip.

"I'm sorry?" It was almost a question, and she could tell that he had no clue what he had done to her. She wondered if it was really her Naruto, the one she remembered, and she almost pulled back. But his arms were wrapped around her, he was holding her, and for one selfish moment, Hinata could imagine that he might actually love her.

"It was the only thing I could think of." His voice was quiet, almost broken. She felt the tension go out of his body, his face pressed into the softness on her jacket. "I stole the jutsu from one of the forbidden scrolls. No one knew about it. And when we were fighting, I was losing and I couldn't think of any way to beat him. So I thought that maybe, if I could take him down with me, then I wouldn't mind dying. I'm sorry."

* * *

Naruto almost choked on that admission. It was a realization that he had even realized that he had made. It would've made him in the same category as his father. Forget becoming Hokage, if he had died killing Madara, they probably would've made him the first posthumous Hokage. But some part of him, a deep seeded part, really wondered if anyone would've missed him for him if he had died.

Hinata sighed and nodded, loosening her grip. He leaned back to look at her, his eyes wide and sad. They both let go and stepped back, Hinata unable to stop the blush painting her cheeks.

"Where do you think we are?" Naruto asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Hinata shrugged, rearranging her jacket.

"It appears to be Konoha, pre-Chunin exam." On an unspoken cue, they began walking down the street. Naruto took lead slightly, leading them away from the main road and on a back way towards his apartment. It seemed like a good place to regroup.

"Soo, genjutsu or afterlife?" Naruto grinned, glancing at her. He felt guilty about dragging her into whatever he just got dragged into, but he refused to let it ruin his mood. He was alive (maybe), he had his friends back, and he had Hinata with him. He may not know a whole lot about the Hyuuga girl, but what he did know, made him extremely hopeful.

"Perhaps afterlife, but I'm honestly leaning more towards we've gone back in time." Hinata bit her lip slightly. "I don't think Madara would allow us to be in such a happy time together if it was a genjutsu."

"Hmm, so back in time?" Naruto shook his head. "Nah, that's impossible."

"Yes, but," she paused. "Call it a hunch."

He accepted this, climbing up the steps that lead to his apartment. He trusted Hinata, and if she believed they had gone back in time, then they had most likely gone back in time. The girl was smarter than he was after all.

"Ignore the trash," he said over his shoulder, leading her into his apartment. It was small, and messy, but considering he was (now) an twelve year old boy with almost no social life, it was pretty nice in his opinion.

Her nose wrinkled slightly, but she didn't make a comment. He was pretty sure that she had maids at the Hyuuga compound, and beyond that, she was probably a very neat person.

He shoved some stuff around, making a shadow clone to take the trash out, and made some room at the small table. He dug around for a moment in his dresser, finally pulling out a almost blank notebook and a pen. He placed it on the table and set about attempting to make some tea.

"I think we should make a plan or something." He said, hunting down his electric kettle. It was cheap, but it worked, mostly because he was usually too lazy to make tea. "Write down what we know."

"I would agree, but such a thing could be dangerous." Hinata said quietly. "If someone were to search your room and find it, we could be in a lot of trouble."

"True," Naruto straightened from where he had had his head in a cupboard. "We could write it in code."

"We could," Hinata replied. "But codes could be broken."

"Got a point. AHA!" He yelled, pulling out his kettle. He glanced over to see Hinata writing in the notebook. "Whatcha doing?"

She eeped, and looked up. "N-nothing." She sighed and looked down. "If we have gone back in time, most of our foreknowledge is useless however. We're at a disadvantage."

"Huh? What do you mean?" This had all of Naruto's attention, and he focused on her, forgetting the tea for a moment. Hinata blushed under the look, but kept talking.

"We're not in the Chunin Exams. This changes everything. The Chunin exams is where everything happened. While it is possible that Orochimaru will be unable to force Sasuke-san to join him, I don't believe that they will call off the attack on the village. And, without your team in the exams, that means that Gaara-san will have a clear shot and have no need to expend the chakra that he uses in our original memories. This means that the damage done to Konoha will be significantly more." Hinata took a deep breath. "It means that what we know, what we can use, is useless. Knowing who our enemies are may be important, but having no clue as to how they will move, and having no capability of gaining that information makes us next to useless."

Naruto blinked, absorbing this information. He really hadn't given it any thought. He had just been too joyful at the sight of his friends. But now, thinking about it, he could see Hinata was right. This could possibly end up worse then it did the first time.

"So, what do we do?" He asked quietly.

"I say that we wait." Hinata shrugged. "We confer with Shikamaru and Tenten, as they are the only teams still in the exams and they are the only people that will talk to us. We make plans and sit on our information until it becomes imperative that we share it. We wait for an opportunity to allow the Hokage and the ANBU forces about Orochimaru and Suna, and we pray that by letting them know, we can keep them from suspecting that we have had anything to do with it. We pretend to be genins again."

Naruto began gritting his teeth halfway through her speaking. Sitting back and waiting was not his preferred method of anything. He was a man of action, and such patience was really beyond him. Yeah, he could sit still long enough to gain enough sage chakra enter sage mode, but that was pushing the limits of his patience. Tsunade had once diagnosed him with ADHD, and he was pretty sure that she was right.

"IS there another option?" He asked, leaning against the counter.

"There is always the possibility of taking matters into our own hands and attacking Madara on our own. But considering the fact that we are twelve, and we don't even know if any of our jutsu, muscle memory, or skills have transferred over, I have a feeling we will die, and die quickly."

"So, we wait?"

Hinata nodded, concentrating on her doodle, "We wait, and we plot. We figure out how much we know, how much we remember, and how quickly we can learn the rest. We take in our enemies' weaknesses and plot out how to exploit them. We concentrate on our weaknesses and build them to a point where they are not our downfalls, and then we use everything we have to surprise and destroy our enemies. We make allies, gather information, and we play stupid."

Naruto really didn't have an answer for that. His jaw dropped and he stared at her in shock. She glanced up, blinked, and then blushed. "What?" She asked, almost scared.

"Hinata, are you a closet megalomaniac?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"N-No!" She yelped, her hands waving in a defense. "I wa-was just thinking out loud! I don't want to rule the world o-or anything!"

He couldn't help himself. He let out a bark of laughter. "No, I know," He replied, going back to making tea. "It just sounded like that entire thing wasn't something I'd expect from you, ya'know? But, I agree, and it sounds like a plan. Better than doing nothing the entire time."

Hinata nodded. "But, it'll be difficult. At least, pretending to be twelve again."

Narito paused. He tried to remember himself at the Chunin exams. It was all a fast moving, painful, insane blur. He couldn't remember how he acted or reacted to anything. He sighed.

"That will be difficult. Crap" He muttered. Hinata hummed in agreement.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before the electric pot made a noise. Naruto reached over and poured her a cup, handing it over. "I don't have any sugar, and I'm pretty sure my milk is expired. Sorry."

"It's okay," Hinata murmured, sipping the tea. He watched her pause and took a sip of his own cup. He choked.

"Oh, Kami, that's disgusting!" He yelped, making her smile. He looked at her. "You do not have to drink that! I've drank pond water that tasted better than that."

She giggled and put the cup down. "It's not too bad." She said, obviously trying to placate him. He shook his head.

"No, it's that bad. Yuck." He walked over to the sink and poured his tea out. He reached over and snatched hers away too. "Maybe we should go out for something. I mean, I only have cup ramen and icky tea."

"Actually," Hinata said quietly. "We may not be able to talk for a while."

Naruto froze. "What?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't want to lose the only person that he really knew here. Whatever was going on, genjutsu or time travel, he needed Hinata. "Why?"

Hinata sighed. "We are not friends. We barely know each other and I can't talk to you without blushing."

"We've been friends for years!" He prostested. "And after the fight with Pein-" He stopped and closed his eyes. "Oh."

She nodded. "Yes. We're genins again. If we suddenly become friends, then our teammates will be suspicious. Worse, our senseis will be suspicious."

"Kakashi already thinks somethings up," He admitted. Her head snapped and she narrowed her eyes at him. He gulped and explained. "He was here when i woke up this morning and startled me. I burned up my blankets. I was able to lie to him and tell him it was a nightmare, but I don't know if he bought it."

Hinata shook her head, bringing her hands up to rub at her face. "This isn't going to end well." She murmured. "If our senseis think something is going on, they may stop us. If they think we're a threat, or imposters, they'll hand us over to Ibiki."

Naruto winced. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." She answered, rising. "I need to go. My teammates are no doubt looking for me and I know them. They'll be able to find me quickly. I'm honestly amazed that they haven't found me yet."

"Maybe something is holding them up?"

"Sensei, most likely. Maybe if I go home, I won't have to face them." He could tell that she didn't want to see her teammates. Somehow, Sakura and Sasuke hadn't noticed anything different this morning, but if he was honest with himself, they didn't know him very well. He was pretty sure that Shino and Kiba knew Hinata a lot better.

"So, going to hide?" He questioned.

"Have to. It might not be so bad tomorrow, but I can't face them today. Does that make me a coward?" She tilted her head at him.

He wanted to laugh at her. Hinata was the bravest person that he knew. She was able to stand against enemies that he couldn't even face, able to care for people who don't deserve. She was even willing to love him. That was bravery, because he knew that he would let her down.

"No, Hinata-chan. I don't think you could ever be a coward." He smiled at her bright blush. Apparently, some things didn't really change.


	3. One: Contemplate

Naruto blinked and immidiately sighed. "Seriously, don't you have anything better to do?"

The giant fox locked behind the huge gates growled. "remind to rip your throat out the moment I get a chance."

"Yeah, that's going to happen." Naruto glanced around. The sewer looked exactly the same. Water dripped off of pipes wrapping around the walls. The cage was still locked, the paper seal still intact. He shrugged. "Seriously, though, what's up?"

"You have no clue what's going on, do you?" The fox shook his head. "How did I get stuck with such an idiot? I never thought I'd be jealous of Shukaku, but at least his container is intellegent."

"I'm going to ignore the insults and simply ask if you know what's going on. Because if you do, I'd really like to know. And besides, you're just jealous that Gaara lets Shukaku kill random people."

Naruto had spent all day re-exploring his village. Everything was how he remembered it when he was a kid. Not only was it the same, but the people were still there. He had almost burst into tears at the sight of the Sandaime walking down the street. He knew a lot of things were back to the way it used to be, he had seen his team that morning after all. It just hadn't sunk it until the sight of the old man standing there.

He was pretty sure he had shocked the old man too, when he ran up and threw his arms around him. Then, of course, coming to his senses, ran off before Sarutobi could even ask.

After a full day of heartache and joy, he had fallen asleep quickly, an impressive feat since his blanket had burned. Then, just his luck, he woke up to his favorite demon ever.

Not.

"Why the hell did Kami ever choose you?" The fox grumbled again. Naruto blinked at him.

"Uh, to contain you? Because my mother did it before me. And I'm pretty sure Dad picked me, not Kami, but whatever." Naruto shrugged. "You have no clue either, huh?"

"Yes, I do." Kyuubi said, sighing. "I, unlike you puny mortals, can hear the whispers of the Gods. And I have heard that they are interfereing with the path of humans."

"Interfereing?" Naruto scrunched his nose up. "Don't they always interfere? I mean, they are gods after all."

"No, you idiot." The fox snarled. "There are laws laid down at the beginning of time in an attempt to stop these things from happening. But because Madara has over stepped the bounds of what humans should be capable of, the gods are stepping in."

The boy froze, his head snapping up, eyes wide. "What do you mean? We died. Madara lost."

"Idiot." The fox's voice sounded old to Naruto. "The Kamikaze jutsu you performed destoryed you, yes. It also destroyed half the country you were standing in. But it did not destroy me. Nor did it destroy Madara. He survived. And he captured me and then hunted down the Hachibi. He won."

"Oh." It was all Naruto could say. He clenched his fists, trying to get the shake out of them. Panic was threatening to choke him. He lost.

He did the last thing he could think of, a kamikaze justsu, and in the end, he lost. There was no way to describe it, he still lost. He killed himself, Hinata, and if Kyuubi was telling the truth, anyone in an almost hundred mile radius, except the one person who needed to die. He failed.

He doomed the world to a fate worst than death.

"Brat," the soft rumble echoed through naruto's head, but he wasn't listening. He was too trapped in his own thoughts. Guilt grew in his chest, heavy, making him slide to his knees. The water always covering the floor of the cage splashed up on him. He thought about just burying his head under the gentle waves. He failed everyone.

A hand pressed against his neck, making him jerk. He looked up, wild-eyed and froze, staring. He gulped.

"Mom?" He whispered, staring at the woman. She smiled at him, settling down to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Naruto." She whispered. He buried his face in her hair, fighting not to cry. His arms tightened around her waist, almost breaking her ribs. She didn't make a sound, just pulled him closer. They stayed that way for a moment, just being comforted by one another.

"Yes, yes, this is very sweet. I'm about to vomit." Kyuubi drawled, effectively ruining the moment. Both Uzumakis shot him a glare, but did not let go of each other. "Perhaps, we could talk about what the Gods have in store for us? Personally, I'd like not to be punished for uselessness. I'm already living an eternity of hell, why tempt fate?"

"I have a new respect for the two of you. He's very annoying." A younger voice sounded out, making Naruto turn. He blinked at the sight of a young red-headed kid standing at the entrance of room containing Kyuubi. Next to him stood Hinata.

"What the heck," Kyuubi muttered. "Is this just a party now?"

"Shut up, Fox," Kushina snapped. She released Naruto and rose in one graceful move. Her hair swung down her back, now wet and heavy. Something made Kyuubi start laughing.

"Oh, this is hilarious. I'm not the only fox anymore. Hah!"

Kushina whirled on the demon, rage dancing in her eyes. The motion threw her hair into Naruto's face, knocking him to the ground. He heard movement and suddenly, Hinata was there, helping him up.

He stood up, listening to his mother threaten the nine tailed fox with smomthing that he was pretty sure was impossible without a goat and a kunai. The kid just stood the side, smiling and shaking his head.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled, causing Kushina to stop. He pointed to the child. "You ran into me this morning, didn't you!"

The kid raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Who the hell are you anyways?" Kushina asked sharply.

The kid sighed, lips pursing. He looked at her, head titlted and green eyes bright. "Really, Shina-chan? You don't know who the hell I am?"

She paused. Naruto blinked confused, while Hinata simply stood there, keeping quiet. Kushina spoke, "What's your name?"

"Okay, don't laugh." The kid pointed at Kushina. "seriously, Shina-chan, you can't laugh. But my name is Hikari."

At first, she was confused. Slowly, it dawned on her. She snorted, then started to snicker. "They named you Hikari?" She asked incredulous. "Seriously?"

Both Naruto and Hinata were confused now. Kyuubi was for a moment, then, seeing the annoyed look on Hikari's face, he finally understood. He started laughing as well.

Hikari just watched them both, sighing. "I'm glad that you two find it so funny. Shina, why do you have a tail?"

"Wait, what?" Naruto jerked, staring. "Mom, you have a tail!"

Kushina straightened, all amusement gone. She glanced back and sighed. "Yep, I have a tail." Said tail waved slightly, though it blended in with her hair, making it hard to see. "apparently, the same power that sent you back in time and turned him into a kid, decided that I needed to be a kitsune."

"Oh," Naruto shook his head, then turned to Hikari. "Why are they laughing at you?"

The boy sighed. "The Yellow Flash of Konoha gets reincarnated into a child named Hikari. It is amusing. Besides, your mother always laughs at me. I've learned to ignore it."

"Hey!" Kushina yelled. Naruto grinned, then realized what was said.

"Wait, Dad?" He asked, staring down. "Seriously?"

"Yes, Naruto, I am you father." He looked down. "Well, at least I was."

"So, now the only question I have is really, why are we all in my head?" Naruto turned to look at Hinata, raising an eyebrow. "Any ideas?"

"No," She murmured, realizing that both his parents were staring at her. She licked her lips, fighting the blush. "Perhaps it's to share information?"

"Forgive me, Hyuuga-san," Kushina asked, eyes narrowing. "But who are you?"

Hinata seemed to shrink in on herself, causing Naruto to stand in between the two women. "Hinata is my friend." He said firmly. He turned to look at her. "I don't know if you heard, but apparently, Madara still won." He swallowed back the guilt. "Kyuubi says that the gods are interefering because of it."

"Of a sort." Kyuubi interuppted. "The Gods can only do so much. They still need to use a human vessal, or in this case, vessals. Basically, tools to do their bidding. Which would be you four."

"I can see why Mini-Hikari-kun and myself were chosen to help Naruto, but why the Hyuuga?" Kushina said, ignoring Hikari's long-suffering sigh. "No offense." She added.

"None t-taken," Hinata stammered out. She turned to the Kyuubi. "Does this mean that we are chosen to destroy Madara?"

"I would guess yes." The demon fox answered.

"Yeah, but why stick us back so far?" Naruto asked. "I mean, the Chunnin Exams?"

"But, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, her eyes wide, mind racing. "This is where everything starts!"

"Huh?"

"Think about it. This is where Orochimaru-san seals Sasuke-san, menaing that we lose the last Uchiha. This is where Sandaime-sama dies, losing us a powerful leader. Not to mention, we have time now. We know what we've got coming. We can destroy Akatsuki before they can even try to collect the bijuu. We can stop Madara before he even starts!"

"Nice idea, but how do you plan on doing this?" Hikari asked. "You two are now only genins, I'm an academy student, and we don't even know what Kushina is."

"Summons," Kushina interjected. "For the fox contract. Which has been lost for the past two centuries." She smiled wryly. "I'm not going to be much help at all."

"Oh, stop whining," Kyuubi snapped. "I'll tell you where it is."

Naruto wasn't listeing to them. He was too busy thinking, trying to trace the same lines Hinata was thinking. Finally, he looked up, grinning. "She's right." He said quietly. "We could literally save everybody."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, idiot," Kyuubi snapped. "I will admit that you have an advantage, but that doesn't mean that everything will work perfectly. I will tell you this. We have time on our side."

"What does that mean?" Naruto snapped. He watched the demon open his mouth to answer, but something shifted. Everyone dissapeared suddenly. A drop of water hit a pool and the sound echoed through his head.

He jerked and stared up at his ceiling, suddenly wide awake. The sunshine poured through the window, alerting him to the fact that it was early morning.

"Well, crap." He sighed, rolling to sit up. He rubbed his forehead, trying to organize everything racing through his head. Guilt threatened to wash over him. He swallowed and rose, beginning to get dressed and gather his stuff. At least he could go train for a while before his team meeting.

He blinked at the fact that his headband was once again under his pillow, even though he had put in on the dresser last night. Naruto frowned, feeling like something was wrong, but he shrugged it off.

He was out the door, heading for the training ground, in a flash.


End file.
